Union+of+the+Canadas

**Union of the Canadas**


In 1840, the British North America Act, 1840, a.k.a. The Act of Union was passed. The union took place in Upper and Lower Canada, when they were united as West Canada and as East Canada, Following Lord Durham's Report on Canada, after the Rebellions of 1837 in Upper and Lower Canada.

Reasons For Union
The Union was established partly in the hope of solving financial issues in Upper Canada, for they had gotten into debt thanks to the deeds of the Family Compact, (mainly investments in canals,) and partly in the hope of assimilating the French culture into British culture.

Enactment of the Union
The unions of Canada came into effect in February of 1841, when the legislatures of Upper and Lower Canada were abolished, uniting them as one region, the Province of Canada. The capital of the Union, and seat of Parliament was moved to Kingston. Both Canada West and Canada East were supposed to have 42 representatives in the assembly, although Canada East had a larger population at the time. The Assembly was conducted in English only business which had recommendation to the Durham Report. By the late 1850's, a large amount of immigration to Canada Westfrom the UK caused another imbalance, and Canada West started lobbying for more accurate representation of their population, even though the act of union mandated that they have equal numbers of representatives. Eventually, the act of union failed in what it was originally thought out to do, to shut down French-Canadian political Influence, only maki ng it stronger.

Upper Canada's Influence
Upper Canada had spent some time on expanding. The other subject that Upper Canada was focusing on was the business of the The Family Compact.

**Resources**
"Canada History." //Union of the Canadas//. Access History Web Company, n.d. Web. 17 May 2012. [|].

"Wikipedia-The Free Encyclopedia." //Act of Union 1840//. N.p., 01 Apr 2012. Web. 17 May 2012.[| ].

//constitutional-act-1791-257.jpg//. N.d. Photograph. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.comWeb. 18 May 2012. [|].